Behaviour Management
When I considered what my idea of an effective behaviour management plan was, I had to make certain specifications in my head. Depending on the year level and the individuals in a class itself, not to mention whole school behaviour management policies, a teacher’s classroom management plans and strategies could differ immensely. In a dream classroom, where there are twenty children who all have supportive parents, the administration staffs is all behind the teachers one hundred percent and the students fairly shine with interest and potential, managing a classroom would be much easier. However, all three of these are unlikely to happen all in conjunction. In light of this, my personal management plan has great room for flexibility, and according to my philosophy of teaching, the role the teacher can play is just as flexible as well.
The key goals for my classroom management plan are:
1. To make my classroom a place where students can learn to be citizens of society as well as academics.
2. To ensure students feel comfortable and secure by creating a positive learning environment.
3. To ensure all students know what is expected of them and their behaviour.
4. To discipline students with respect
5. To be a proactive, rather than reactive teacher.
My classroom management goals are closely linked with Bill Rogers positive behaviour leadership model, as it relies on prior planning and reflection, respect of students and encouragement of appropriate social skills (Edwards & Watts, 2008).
My personal management plan has four main structures:
- Setting the classroom up for learning: The organisation of the classroom and the routines associated with it are extremely important in order to create a positive learning environment. The set-up of the classroom includes: the physical layout, organisation of equipment, displays of students work, clear routines and guidelines and class developed rules.
- Preventive Strategies: I believe that a truly effective teacher is proactive rather than reactive. Preventing misbehaviour before it becomes an issue is part of this. Preventive strategies like Bennett and Smilanich’s ‘Low Key Responses’ and encouragement and praise to students doing the right thing have been effective for me so far on my prac experiences: Edwards and Watts state, “students seek approval, and encouragement provides a legitimate means of receiving it” (2008, p120).
- Corrective strategies: A corrective strategy is a reaction to certain behaviour, hopefully based on previous planning both within the school and on an individual level. Before discussing corrective strategies any further, I believe that there are several points to be kept in mind:
§ A corrective strategy should be logical.
§ The teacher should always have a reason for why they are applying it that relates back to the classroom rules.
§ Any discipline of a student needs to be respectful. Embarrassing a student in front of their peers is not acceptable practice in my opinion.
§ The motive behind the individual student’s behaviour should always be considered before reacting (Edwards & Watts, 2008).
- Reflection: Reflection is part of teaching at every level. From marking students work, to analysing classroom practice or even simply thinking “Well, that definitely didn’t work, something is going to have to change!” in a split second while wandering around the classroom, I believe reflection is one of the critical elements to becoming an effective teacher. Sometimes in a classroom situation when the teacher isn’t managing behaviour well, it is the fault of the strategies being employed. Being able to be flexible in the classroom at the time and then thinking about the why and how afterward in order to correct what went wrong has been extremely valuable for me.
Key Points for Success
First of all: the sorts of relationship teachers have with their students. For my personal plan this is all-important, because both the preventive and corrective strategies rely on mutual respect. The premise of a mutually respectful relationship also ties back into my main goals as a teacher of creating a classroom environment where students feel comfortable, and they can learn to be members of a society. While I do not expect every student to like me as a teacher (this would be incredibly naïve), I do expect to be able to gain the respect of my students by displaying good manners and other appropriate disciplinary actions (Rogers, 2007). In other words, I will try to model and invite respect at all times which will put into place the necessary vibe of the classroom for this plan to work effectively.
The second key point for successful implementation of this plan is effective teaching and preparation. Obviously, I would expect it is the goal of every teacher to be effective, and all discipline plans rely on this effectiveness. However, I believe that this particular style of classroom management relies more upon effective communication and teaching strategies than a classroom that used a plan based on Skinner’s Behaviour Modification model that could be ruled over by a teacher using fear and punishment as preventives. Due to the fact that my plan relies on well-applied preventives and a positive class environment to ensure appropriate learning and behaviour, I believe that my ability to nip in-appropriate behaviour in the bud will need to be excellent. This is also true for my ‘winning over’ strategies and ‘with-it-ness’.
In this case, preparation refers not only to planning of teaching units and resources, but also my own ability to plan out exactly what I want from my classroom and students, how I can go about getting it. Marsh states that “All teachers need to reflect critically on their actions.” (2008, pg5.) Reflection is vital in many things, not just teaching, to determine what works well, what doesn’t, what needs changing, and what should remain the same to achieve certain goals, be they personal or professional.
The final aspect that would need to be in place for this particular sort of classroom management plan to work effectively would be administrative and collegial support and an appropriate whole school management policy. Rogers states, “it is a matter of professional responsibility to support the school’s practices and plans” (2007, p49). While I do not believe that any of the themes in my personal plan would go against any whole school policy, I’m sure there are some schools that do things in a different way. I believe in the philosophy and thought behind my personal discipline plan, however, I also respect the fact that schools are communities that rely on collegial support, and that all staff need to work together as a united team for the sake of a whole school community.
Bennett, B. & Smilanich, P. (1994). Classroom management: A thinking and caring approach. Toronto: Educational Connections.
Edwards, C. H. & Watts, V. (2008). Classroom discipline and management (2nd Ed.). Milton, Queensland: John Wiley & Sons, Australia.
Marsh, C. (2008). Becoming a teacher (4th Ed.). Frenchs Forest: Pearson Education Australia
Rogers, B. (2007) Behaviour management: A whole school approach (2nd Ed.). London: Paul Chapman.
